president hassan rouhani of iran said he will press forward with attempts to ward off military action by western nations against president bashar al- assad. he was quoted as saying that military action will bring great cost for the region. it is necessary to apply all effort to prevent it. according to state tv, he said both iran and russia would work in cooperation to prevent any military action against syria. meanwhile, the united states and its allies continue to pair for a potential strike. president obama told pbs yesterday he did not want a prolonged military intervention. >> if we are saying in a clear and decisive but very limited way, we send a shot across the bow saying, stop doing this, that can have a positive impact on a national security over the long term and may have a positive impact in the sense that chemical weapons are not used again on innocent civilians. >> the white house announced it will brief members of congress later today on plans to move forward with a military's right, and it -- military strike, and will reduce evidence -- release evidence of the assad rw